no title

Interview

Panelist to shed light on economic positives of arts

The Columbus Metropolitan Club will present Randy Cohen in a panel discussion at noon Wednesday
in the Athletic Club of Columbus, 136 E. Broad St. Tickets cost $40, or $20 for
members. The reservation deadline online: 11:30 a.m. today. Call 614-464-3220, Ext. 1;
or visit
www.columbusmetroclub.org.

Such is the message of Randy Cohen, vice president of research and policy at Americans for the
Arts, a nonprofit organization that advances arts and arts education.

Cohen should know: Americans for the Arts recently published the results of a 2010 survey
exploring the economic effect of arts consumption in 182 regions — including central Ohio — in all
50 states. In the Columbus metropolitan area, 1,100 people who attended arts events were
interviewed.

“The arts are actually keeping people in the community,” Cohen said.

“The fact is, arts organizations are businesses.”

Cohen will discuss the survey on Wednesday at a Columbus Metropolitan Club luncheon and panel
moderated by Ann Fisher, host of a talk show on WOSU (89.7 FM). The other panel members are
Columbus City Councilwoman Priscilla Tyson and Michael Gonsiorowski, regional president of PNC
Bank.

“Cohen paints a good picture of Columbus in context nationally,” said Jami Goldstein,
spokeswoman for the Columbus Arts Council.

“He has all the data from all the cities that participated in the study, and Columbus folks love
to figure out where we fit into the bigger picture.”

Among the survey findings:

• Nonprofit arts and culture in Columbus annually generate $226 million in economic activity and
support more than 8,500 jobs.

• Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in Franklin County spend $131 million annually on
salaries, production costs, etc. — and prompt additional spending on parking, restaurants, bars and
hotels.

• People attending a Columbus arts event typically spend $16.23 beyond the cost of admission;
during the survey period, 5.9 million people generated an additional $95 million in economic
activity.

• Of those visiting Columbus, 74 percent said they came for an arts event, compared with the
national average of 56 percent. Asked what they would do if the arts event weren’t happening, 36 p
ercent said they would have traveled to a different community for an arts event.

The most important lesson of the survey, Cohen said, is that “The arts provide a community with
both cultural and economic benefits. . . . It’s very solid data.

“But most people are still surprised by the size and economic impact of the industry. It’s an
important story for people to hear.”